Community Collaboratives

Big problems require bold goals and decisive action.

Our main focus is to help working families and individuals in our community that are living in poverty. Helping those families and individuals requires more than a band-aid, it requires a total systems change to tackle the root causes that are affecting our society.

To tackle these big issues, we work with local people and organizations to form Community Collaboratives that come together to align resources and solve problems no single donor, nonprofit, or government agency can accomplish alone.

Each collaborative is designed to not only make a positive change in the specific focus area, but impact our entire community for the better. The collaboratives are each their own unique entity made up of several community members and organizations that break down individual agendas and bring forth their own strengths to build the best system we can. We invite you to read more about the collaboratives and get involved.

231 Go! is a Community Collaborative focused on supporting intermediate and middle school students living in South Lorain with wrap-around services both inside and outside of the school environment.

Goal: A community where all 5th through 8th grade students who reside in South Lorain are supported in developing key communication and life skills to help avoid specific risky behaviors - such as smoking, drinking and violence - ultimately leading to safer schools and positive social environments that improve both educational and social outcomes.

Initiatives: Implementing the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) curriculum to 8th graders in Lorain City Schools, linking the AVID students with tutors and mentors during the school day, aligning risky behavior avoidance instruction and messaging within the school and outside the school, fostering volunteerism through multiple community-based after school and weekend programs and offering supports to help strengthen the parental role in the home and with academics.

Partners: Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Lorain County | El Centro de Servicios Sociales | Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio | Lorain City School District | Lorain County Community College | Lorain County Volunteer Connection | Lorain Metropolitan Housing Authority | United Way of Greater Lorain County

Common VIEW (Common Vision for Improved Education and Wellness) is a Community Collaborative in the Clearview, Firelands and Midview school districts focused on improving health knowledge, develop communication and life skills, and create school environments in which risky behaviors are avoided.

Goal: Ensure safer schools and positive social environments that improve both educational and social outcomes for students in the districts.

Initiatives: Coordinating school menus and concessions to include fresh and local produce, providing family fit nights in school facilities, creating walking and biking paths for safe and healthy travel to school and integrating health and wellness messaging into existing curriculum and presentations.

Partners: Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board of Lorain County | Clearview Local Schools | Cleveland Clinic Foundation | Educational Service Center of Lorain County | Firelands Local Schools | Lorain County Board of Mental Health | Lorain County Public Health | Lorain County Volunteer Connection | Midview Schools | United Way of Greater Lorain County

KEY (Keystone Empowers You) is a Community Collaborative focused on increasing access to physical activity and healthy food options in the Keystone area.

Goal: A Community where more adults have access to exercise programs - both formal and informal - and are exercising regularly, there is an increased availability of fresh fruits and vegetables in schools, neighborhoods and workplaces, and youth spend less time playing video games or watching television and more time engaging in the recommended amount of daily exercise.

Initiatives: Improving concessions offered during school and community events, a pantry garden to provide residents with access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and physical activity programming in community venues.

North Ridgeville Heart and Sole is a Community Collaborative focused on increasing access to physical activity and healthy food options in North Ridgeville.

Goal: A community where more adults have access to exercise programs – both formal and informal – and are exercising regularly, an increased availability of fresh fruits and vegetables in schools, neighborhoods and workplaces resulting in more consumption of these foods from people of all ages, youth spend less time playing video games or watching television and more time engaging in the recommended amount of daily exercise.

Initiatives: Healthy cooking classes hosted by Parks and Recreation Department on school grounds, farm markets, healthy concession stand offerings, and working with the Metro Parks to map and promote walkable and bikeable areas of the community.

OberlinKids is a Community Collaborative focused on developing solutions to ensure all children enter school healthy and ready to learn.

Goal: Identify the needs of each pre-school aged child and their family and put them on a track to be prepared for kindergarten. According to the OberlinKids collaborative partners, being ready to learn includes four key areas – having basic needs met, being developmentally ready, having adequate support in place for the child and family, and participating as a family in transition to kindergarten activities.

Initiatives: Support the parents and families by providing the resources necessary to encourage a child’s development. Families who reside in Oberlin can sign-up with OberlinKids to obtain free resources on child development, access to family events and play groups, health and nutritional resources and services, learning check-ups for their child, referral support, books and much more.

Partners: Child Care Resource Center | City of Oberlin | Kendal Early Learning Center | Lorain County Children and Family First Council | Lorain County Community Action Agency | Lorain County Health & Dentistry | Lorain County Public Health | Oberlin Business Partnership | Oberlin City Schools | Oberlin College Bonner Center for Service and Learning | Oberlin Community Services | Oberlin Early Childhood Center | Oberlin Public Library | OhioGuidestone | United Way of Greater Lorain County

Ready Set Go...to Kindergarten is a Community Collaborative focused on improving kindergarten readiness for children in the Elyria City School District. The collaborative provides targeted activities and programs addressing the physical health, social/emotional development, behavioral health, academic preparedness, and parental support for each child.

Initiatives:Implementation of an Imagination Library - a national initiative that mails high-quality, age-appropriate books directly to family's homes - for children aged birth to kindergarten, identifying children who need intervention and providing them with services before kindergarten, providing tools and resources to homecare providers and stay-at-home family providers, assisting all families and children with a formal transition plan to kindergarten and including neighborhood childcare center staff and homecare providers in advanced training facilitated by the school district.

Rising Titans is a Community Collaborative focused on improving kindergarten readiness for children in Lorain through four identified pillars of early learning success including parent engagement, family empowerment, healthy children, and resources for providers.

Goal: A community where families have access to the tools they need for kindergarten readiness, parent Advisory Committees help shape the process, all children entering kindergarten have comprehensive health screenings and immunizations, homecare providers are integrated with formal early-learning centers through professional development and coordinated services, and new services are added that eliminate any new barriers to early learning success.

Initiatives:Identify and provide services to children needing interventions, provide tools and resources to homecare providers, coordinate services between childcare centers and the school district, and work with families to provide additional supports as needed.

Partners: Little Lighthouse Learning Center | Lorain City Schools | Lorain County Community Action Agency | Lorain County Community College | Lorain Public Library System | Neighborhood Alliance | United Way of Greater Lorain County

South Side Prideis a Community Collaborative expanding our previous work to focus on a broader geographic area to support middle school students in South Elyria with services both inside and outside of the school environment.

Goal: A community where reading and math achievement gaps based on race and household income are eliminated, more youth are eating healthy and engaging in the proper amount of physical activity, less adolescents are engaging in risky behavior such as smoking, drinking and violence, and there is an increased connection between schools and parents.

Initiatives: Targeted literacy programming at Elyria Public Library system locations, in-school health curriculum with protective factors and risk avoidance integrated into coursework, fresh fruits and vegetables being included into expanded summer food programming, and pairing mentors with at-risk youth year-round.

Partners:Catholic Charities | Elyria City Schools | Elyria Parks and Recreation | Elyria Public Library | Horizon Education Centers | The LCADA Way | United Way of Greater Lorain County

Initiatives: Funding garden boxes for residents to grow fresh vegetables; providing seniors with bus trips to metro parks and farm markets; designating healthy menu options at local restaurants; providing locally grown produce to all income levels; using the Water First for Thirst campaign to promote increased water consumption; supporting bike-friendly initiatives in Wellington; contributing to the design and development of the new Union School Park; and participating in new and established community events with healthy options, messaging and resources.

UCAN (United Community Assistance Network) is a Community Collaborative focused on providing residents of Greater Lorain County with year-round access to emergency financial assistance for rent, utilities, or other emergency basic needs at a single site geographically located in their neighborhood of residence.

Goal: Each zip code in Greater Lorain County is covered through this collaboration. The client-driven approach includes case management, benefits screening, and access to additional emergency resources.

Initiatives: UCAN's partners utilize a common intake system, so when an individual fills out a form at one agency, they're automatically in the system at the others in case a future need arises. UCAN also allows for shared resources so that there can be a central pool of emergency assistance funds available to all partners. If an individual or family in crisis stops into one of the partners and needs more assistance than that agency can provide with their own resources, the case manager can access the shared resources to get the client the additional assistance that is needed. This new system makes it possible for everyone who needs help to receive the appropriate assistance at the point of contact, and the presence of a case manager helps return the individual or family to financial stability.

WE3 (Women Empowered, Educated and Employed) is a Community Collaborative focused on helping hard-working single moms increase their earning capacity to become and remain economically secure and self-sufficient.

Goal: Increase in jobs obtained and retained for working single moms, with an increase in earnings and a plan for future savings to avoid unforseen emergencies. In the long-term, the collaborative aims to see an overall decrease in poverty rate for the target population.

Initiatives: Ensure participants complete soft skills classes to produce a good resume, practice interview skills, and learn about career options. Participants will also develop and practice a plan that assures transportation is available for classes, interviews, and employment. Local employers with available living wage jobs participate in sessions that link job openings with women with appropriate skills. To assure non-duplication of services, wrap-around case managers from partner agencies are cross-trained and work together.

Partners: Elyria Public Library | Faith House | Lorain City Schools | Lorain County Community Action Agency | Lorain County Community College | Lorain County Department of Job and Family Services | Lorain County JVS | Lorain County Urban League | Lorain Metropolitan Housing Authority | Oberlin College Bonner Center for Service and Learning | Oberlin Community Services | Ohio Means Jobs Lorain County | United Way of Greater Lorain County | YWCA of Elyria